Another inch forward

Yesterday brought a small setback for Greg Abbott, who is, as attorney general, tasked with defending Texas’s current system for funding public schools: a visiting judge has decided that John Dietz, the district judge who has been presiding over the school finance lawsuits that have been inching their way through the courts for two and a half years, can remain on the case.

Abbott had sought to have Dietz removed from the case on grounds of favoritism toward the plaintiffs, but I don’t think he ever had a prayer of succeeding. The attorney general had pointed to emails Dietz exchanged with lawyers working on the case in recent months. Those emails did make it clear that the judge agreed with the school districts on many matters. But that was also clear from his verbal ruling, in February, that the system is unconstitutional, from the fact that he has explained his reasoning to lawyers on both sides since then, and from the fact that the state’s case, after the $5 billion budget cut enacted in 2011, is clearly tenuous. In any event, this clears the way for the case to proceed, inch by inch.

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Comments

WUSRPH

But this late of a ruling probably means that the next Regular Session will not have to deal with the problem. It will take months to get to the Texas Supreme Court and with hearings, motions and all that, there will probably not be a decision until to late for the next session to act. That is, of course, assuming the Court stands by its previous positions on what “an efficient system” means. This could be for the good if the Legislature were to take the opportunity to commission another REAL STUDY of the school system similar (at least in part) to the Perot Commission of 1983-84 or the even more thorough Jaworski Commission of the late 1960s. However, such a study would probably wind up telling the Dan Patrick’s of this world things they would rather not have to know or face so I doubt it is likely to happen.

Kozmo

Everyone in the lege is just kicking this can down the road. I see no genuine effort being made to resolve this crisis equitably. It’s all been about, “Let someone else take the heat for whatever is decided.” It makes one long for the days of simple autocracy.

WUSRPH

That is one of the reasons I advocate another big commission to develop a plan and public support for it.

Apple Annie

With Hecht sitting as CJ these days and having Boyd, Brown, Devine and Willett on the SCOT there is no guarantee any ruling by John Dietz would be upheld. This is a MUCH more conservative Supreme Court than nine years ago and add int he fact that Eva Guzman and Paul Green are probably nervous about Tea Party primary challenges in March 2016, I’d say there is a strong chance that Dietz gets reversed if his ruling is too radical.

Unfortunately that’s probably true…Maybe she can make people think she is German.

Jon

If the comptroller’s budget estimate comes in about 10 percent above the 2013-14 number (and with WTI at $106 a barrel right now, no reason to expect it won’t, since the last number was based on $80 oil), the school funding battle may end up being less contentious in the 2015 Leg than expected, at least as far as the funding goes. The mechanization of who gets and who loses what when it comes to property rich and property poor districts and their tax revenues still figures to keep lawmakers working OT.

WUSRPH

You can get a fairly informed judgment of the budget situation from Stuart Greenfield’s Texas Fiscal web page at http://www.texasfiscal.info/

He is running some now…I saw one on a cable channel the other night…..as funds become available they will run in other areas.

CantThinkofaFunnyName

I know this will fall on deaf ears, but this is nonetheless a falsehood that should be called out every time: “the $5 billion budget cut enacted in 2011” The 2011 legislature did not “cut” public education by $5 billion. Rather it was a decrease in the increase expected under the previous funding formulas. This would be like saying a person got a pay cut if he/she expected to get a $25,000 raise but only got $10,000 in the end. But by all means, let the “we don’t spend enough on public education” parade continue…

WUSRPH

You are right about the $5 billion being the “amount less than the formulas would have generated” and not a real cut…The real CUT was closer to $3 billion, and it was an actual cut in state funding for public education…..which has yet to be fully made up when population growth and inflation are factored in.

Burka, the countdown to Tuesday, January 20, 2015 is getting closer and closer.

Guest

Won’t the Legislature have enough Republicans in both houses just to pass the long-hoped-for (among the conservative private- and home-schooler base) constitutional amendment taking this issue out of the courts permanently? It’d be similar to the amendment passed in 2003 to shield doctors and hospitals from lawsuits. I think the electorate is now anti-public schools enough easily to pass such an amendment. Then Patrick can get to work on “school reform” (aka vouchers, which a majority of Texans now say they are for).

WUSRPH

They may have the votes in the Leg., but one has to hope that they don’t have the votes among the public (at least yet)….., they will cry “income tax” and every other thing they can think of to justify it…..and I am sure that Patrick will at least get it out of committee in the Senate and maybe to the Floor…But it would take only a couple of defecting Republicans to block it there….I would hope that Straus is less likely to go for the plan. (Efforts to do this date back to John Culberson’s time in the Texas House where he kept pushing the “Culberson Amendment” to leave the decision of what constitutes an ‘efficient system’ to the Leg.)